Ferriday had built its big lead with swarming, disruptive defense. And with that advantage down to a razor-thin single basket late, the Trojans came up clutch again with that calling card.
East Iberville, mounting a huge rally to within two points, inbounded from the sideline with 28.7 seconds remaining.
But a leaping Demarcus Mitchell helped complicate the pass, Marcque “BeBe” Terrell deflected it and Shavaris Watson corralled the steal to regain possession.
And senior guard Calvin Washington went to the foul line for his first of two late trips to help secure the 59-55 victory for the Division-IV Non-Select championship, the program’s first since going back-to-back in 1988 and 1989.
“You saw it with your own eyes — you saw how passionate that crowd was tonight,” Ferriday coach Shawn Jones, an alumnus who was a senior on the 1988 team, told the LHSAA Network postgame broadcast. “They’ve been waiting for it for a long time … It’s more than just our team. It’s a whole community team. And you can see we got excellent support from the community tonight.”
The top-seeded Trojans (33-2) forced 13 first-half turnovers to hold No. 3 East Iberville (27-8) to single digits in each of the first two quarters and build a 24-14 halftime lead.
Ferriday carried that momentum right into the third quarter, forcing turnovers on four of the Tigers’ first five possessions and eventually extending the margin out to 36-18 on a Robert Taylor dunk off an inbound pass midway through the period.
But coach Donovan Maryland’s East Iberville squad battled back relentlessly — cleaning up their miscues, connecting on a string of timely 3-pointers and snatching some steals of their own to claw all the way back to the Trojans’ heels.
“We kind of let off the gas a little bit,” Davis said. “Some careless turnovers that kept ’em in the game. We started missing some shots, the easy shots. I think we started stalling the ball too early, also, which kind of knocked us out our rhythm.”
Added Washington: “Even though they started rushing us, we just had to slow down.”
Ferriday senior forward Marcque “BeBe” Terrell was named MVP of his team’s Division-IV Non-Select championship against East Iberville on Friday, March 13, 2026. (Photo: LHSAA Network broadcast)
Terrell earned the game’s MVP honors with a game-high 18 points, team-high 10 rebounds, a blocked shot and an assist.
“It’s a great feeling,” Terrell said through a loud crowd.
Washington orchestrated a balanced, unselfish offense that moved the ball around effectively much of the evening with his 14 points, nine assists, four rebounds and three steals.
And his clutch free-throw shooting, 4-for-4 in the final 25 seconds and 6-for-6 for the game, were critical in sealing the win.
“Throughout the whole year, we’ve really been bad on free throws, so the last couple of our practices that’s the main thing we’ve been taking serious,” Washington said. “We knew most of that time that’s what basketball will come down to is somebody making a free throw to win the game or keep it close.”
Ferriday point guard Caleb Washington’s clutch free-throw shooting late Friday, March 13, 2026, helped seal the Division-IV Non-Select championship against East Iberville. (Photo: LHSAA Network broadcast)
Taylor, a Louisiana (Lafayette) football target, had nine points — including two or three emphatic dunks — as well as four rebounds, two steals and two assists.
And fellow juniors Mitchell and Watson added seven points a piece. Mitchell helped spearhead the defense with four steals, two blocks and two rebounds, and Watson had four rebounds, two steals, two assists and a block.
Sophomore standout Jordan Scharnett led East Iberville with 18 points, joining junior Chase Joseph and sophomore Kaleb Redditt with two 3-pointers each among the highlights of the comeback.
Scharnett also had four rebounds, three steals and two assists, and Joseph and Redditt each finished with eight points.
Senior forward Collin Banks provided the inside scoring punch and presence on the boards with 13 points, 15 rebounds, two assists and a steal.